Mechanism for assisting in propulsion of cycles.



No. 633,943. Ratentgd Sept. 26,1899.

a. s. H.. Ausm. I

IECHANISH Fim -SSISTINH IN PRUPULSION 0F CYCLES.

(Anuncian ma Aug. 1, 189er,

(lh laici.)

'$602196 fzlasa'z,

STATES PATENTy GEoReEsRouerfi-in iiuiiiiir, Ausriiuffoii Ammoniti,vicfronm.

MEHANism for: Assis-UNG m PRoPULsioN or CYCLES.

srncrrrcn'rronforming part freaersratent No. 633,943,- daiujseptember2e, 1899. f Applicants metingen Liege. sneu No. qsmivf nu modem To a/ZZ1071/0711, t vir/ay concern):

Be itlmo'wn that I, GEORGE BROUGHAM i HUBERT AUSTIN, architect, asubject'of the' pulsion of Cycles,

Queen of Great Britain, residing at N o. G Ar? madale road,Armadale,'near Melbourne, in the British Colony of Victoria, haveinvented Improved Mechanismfor Assisting in the Fro- (for which IappliedA for a patent in AVictoria on 1898, No. 15,203; in New South.Waleson the th day of May. 1898, No. 8,377; vin Queens! land on the21st day of.May, 1898, No.4,4183

in South Australia on the 19th day of. May;

1898, No. 5,395; in Tasmania on the 24th day of May, 1898, No. 2,168; inNew Zealand onthe 26th day of May, 1898, No. 10,619, and in WesternAustralia on the th day of May,

1898, No. 2,06%) of which the following isa specification.

This invention has been devised in order to utilize the cyclists Weightfor assisting in the propulsion ofthe machine, especially on roughroads, Where the rider is bumped up and down, orfwhen mounting, or whenit is practicable for the cyclist to raise or lower himself'upon thesaddle at intervals-as, forinstance, when ascending hills.

According to my invention a tube or rod connected to the saddle extendsfor a considerable distance into one or more of the down-Wardly-projecting tubes of the frame of the machine and is providedneark its lower'end with suitable mechanism adapted to engage' Withgearing on or leading to the crank-shaft' or hub of the drive-wheel, soas to utilize the',- movement of the rider-on and off lthe saddle" forthe ultimate purpose of rotating said drive- Wheel and so assisting inthe propulsion of the machine. Suitable roller or other guides areprovided for insuring said tube or tubes' moving freely in thedoWnWardly-projecting,l

' tubes of the irame,and the seater saddle may in some cases be mountedin such a way that it can turn horizontallyfor a certain distance upon apivot, thus lessening the chances'of straining the mechanism.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a centralvertical section of the upperportion of the main down-tube of a bicycle'fitted with my invention,

is a central verticalesection'of the lower partV the 18th dayof May? comc Fig. 2y

. of. the` device and designed to match4 with A re'presents an ordinarysaddle carried by a pillar-,or support a, fitted into a short tubect,"n`1ounted in ball-bearings a? within a larger tube "B-,extendingnearly to thebottom of a dowmvardlyprojecting tube C of the ma- ;chine.'l y f Thetjube B is provided near its top with a ciossepin b, extendingdiametrically across rsaidtnbe,its ends being projected into slots bXintli'e'tube B. These slots bx are formed Vhorizontally or at right anglesto the axis of the4 .tubeB and are comparatively short, as 'shown inFig. 3, their length being such as to permit the vsaddle A to turnhorizontally with the movement of the riders body instead'of permittingthe strain of such movements to be unicated to the mechanism with* whichthe lower end of the tube B is connected. At the top of thedownwardly-extending tube C isapap c', and at the top of the tube B is asecond cap b". These two parts combine with kthe cross-pin b to hold thesaddle A in proper positionV and prevent it from being removed bydrawing the clamping-collarai its around' the upper end of the shorttube a', by lmeans of which the height of the saddle may be adjusted.`

ism out of operation-for inst-ance, when de.-v

scending hills.

LYThe tube B ts 'comparatively loosel'y into the.downwardly-projectingvtube'C, but is kept'in position and prevented from turning post a out ofthe tube a', A

.8o D represents a locking-.bolt adapted toenaround by `means of one ormore removable' rollers b3 Workin@ in one or` more slots b4 in saidtube, as illustrated, with or Without anti- ,friction vguide-wheels b5,mounted on said tube.' A springB is coiled around said' tube .B andValways-tends to litt' saidtube upward.V

Atthe bottom of the tube B 'is abufter. This buiiercomprises a piston F,operating Within a short cylindrical chamber Fv at the bottom of theydown-tube' C, said chamber having aninlet-valve, as F2, anoutlet-fvalve,as F3, and a pipe F4, leading into any suitable reservoirG forcompressed air-such,for

instance, as one' or moreof the tubes'constituting,` the frame ot themachine. On the downstroke of the piston F thc air in cliamber F isforced into pipo F1 through outletvalve F3, and on the upstroke of saidpiston moreair is drawn into chamber F through inlet-Valve 1"?, and soon.

The tube B has a rack B2, (see Fig. 2,) engaging with studs or eogs on awheel D, mounted loosely on the crank-shaft and carrying pallets orpawls D2, adapted to rotate a pin-y ion E, keyed to the crank-shaft E',on the downward motion of the tube and escape on the upward movement asbefore.

The air forced into the reservoir G or into the tubes of the frame maybe utilized for the blowing of a Whistle or other signal, and thepressure might be relieved by an automatic relief-valve or otheroontrivance, which, however, it is not thought necessary to describe.

In operating the deviceA the rider should rest his Weight upon thepedals after the saddle has gone down in order to allow the coiledspring` and buffer to return the saddle to its initial position, as Willbc readily understood.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of mysaidinvcntion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declarethat what I claim is- In a mechanism for the propulsion of cycles, thecombination with the drive-Wheel shaft of a gear loosely mountedthereon, a ratchet rigid on said shaft, a pawl pivoted on said gear andmeshing with the ratchet in one direction of movement, asaddle-supporting tube longitudinally movable in a part of the frame ofthe cycle and provided with a rack to mesh with the gear, an air-chamberbelow the shaft of said gear, a pipe leading from said chamber forconnection With a storagereservoir having,` a relief-valve, a pistonupon the lower end of the movable tube to lit and have movement in saidair-chamber, and inlet and outlet valves for the latter, substantiallyas described.

GEORGE BROUGHAM HUBERT AUSTIN. lVitnesses:

EDWARD WATERS, EDWARD WATERS, J r.

